Ikea solution to store 14 ukes

One issue that anyone suffering from UAS is eventually bound to face is storage (although this problem is literally smaller with Ukuleles than with collecting Guitars, or Cars).

Living in a small apartment, my wife and I had to find a way to store up to 20 ukes on as little room as possible. The solution I came up with is to drill some extra holes in a regular "Billy" shelf from Ikea in order to fit a couple more boards. With this small modification, we can fit 12 Soprano/Concert/Tenor cases into one shelf. The baritones are too long anyway, so they go on top of the shelf.

One thing that I found is that some Tenor cases are too long to fit into the "Billy" shelf as well (max. 76 cm length). The ones that fit are those omnipresent Canvas covered hard shell cases, Kala's "Uke Crazy" hard cases, and also most Ko'olau/Pono/O'ahu cases. But not all of them, mind you, since they're being made with several different moulds to accommodate larger models.

You can still place some of those longer Tenor cases in the shelf, but they will stick out a little towards the head. As you can see on the picture, the ones that are slightly too long are the white Crossrock 1000, Kanilea's own Tenor case, and the longest of the O'ahu cases (from bottom to top).

Of course, this solution doesn't prevent us from opening all the cases in order to refill the Humidifiers regularly, but that's a good chance to get out and play all of our ukes.

That looks like a super efficient way to storing the ukes in their cases.

Where do you live that requires you to keep the ukes humidified in their cases?

To alleviate storage issues in our small condo I try to stay with one case per size of uke. I usually only take one uke traveling or to a meetup so I can use the same case for multiple ukes. At home all the ukes stay out on wall hangers or floor stands at the ready to be played.

Thanks for the tip. Looks like a neat solution.
–Lori

what a great problem to have!

This is just a super idea! Thanks for sharing!

This is so much better than stacking all the cases on top of each other, which makes getting out the one 'in between' a pain, as the shelves each support a single uke and take minimal space themselves.

Does the back panel of the unit have to be installed for it to be sturdy?

I was thinking that if you put two of these together (with some metal plate brackets joining the top and bottom corners) with one in front of the other (the front unit with no back panel) that you could get double the depth, and maybe even use the lower shelves for a few guitars.

Would that work?

Booli, that's exactly what I was aiming for: Being able to pull out any one of them quickly without piling them all up onto another. I'm not sure if the solution you're suggesting would be stable enough to accommodate for Guitars. I think in that case, I'd rather build a shelf from scratch, or maybe use Ikea's "Pax" wardrobe that might be long, deep, and stable enough (sorry if this is turning into a commercial).

With the back panel installed, the boards of the "Billy" are about 26 cm deep (10 inches). Some of the Tenor cases stick out a little at the lower bout, but only by about half an inch, so I'm fine with that.

Fretie, it's not just lack of humidity that I'm worried about, but also sunlight. I have two or three of my ukes out on a stand while playing for a couple of hours, but will store them in their cases after that.

The IKEA Billy system is just the greatest shelving solution! We have a couple dozen in our house, mostly setup as bookshelves / display cabinets (for our crafts collections and memorabilia) with glass doors, mostly thin glass shelves, and under-shelf lighting.

Booli said:

Does the back panel of the unit have to be installed for it to be sturdy?

Click to expand...

No, the units are sturdily braced at top, bottom, and middle. Adjacent units can be bolted together for even greater stability. And they can be attached to walls. Ours are all bolted down -- ain't going nowhere in the next 'quake.

I was thinking that if you put two of these together (with some metal plate brackets joining the top and bottom corners) with one in front of the other (the front unit with no back panel) that you could get double the depth, and maybe even use the lower shelves for a few guitars.

Would that work?

Click to expand...

Billys are 30" wide and 11" deep. Nope, not a solution, except maybe for *very* small guitars. We have such a 2X setup to hold a large olla (Native American pot). Let's see, the diagonal distance [/me whips out measuring tape] is 36" but with tight corners. Sorry. I'm not sure about IKEA (and I don't have time to check their catalog right now) but other wider shelving systems exist. Some can even be closed and humidified AFAIK.

Is it OK to think this thread is simultaneously awesome and hilarious?

That storage solution ROCKS!
It also reminds me of the song by the Lancashire Hotpots about IKEA and, "a bookcase called Billy or a table called Sven".

Either way, glad I came across this.
mx

maryagn3s said:

Is it OK to think this thread is simultaneously awesome and hilarious?

That storage solution ROCKS!

Click to expand...

Yes, it is rather useful, in some situations. Another option: We have a line of 30-inch-wide oak 'barrister' bookcases, now filled variously with books or silver cups or stacked colorful fabrics (Mayan huipiles we bought in Guatemala). Each cabinet has a few horizontal lifting glass doors with two brass knobs. I tie a little fishline to tuning pegs of 'ukes and mandos and hang them from the knobs. Other small lutes lean against the doors -- 18 are now so arrayed directly in front of me. No cases, no humidifiers, don't really need those here, and everything is nicely displayed. Kalimbas, dulcimers, maracas, and steel drum pans hang from other knobs. My gripe with the IKEA Billy system: not enough knobs! (We have dreamcatchers, peace pipes, decorated knives, and Zuñi pentatonic flutes hanging from the Billy knobs.)

Great idea! Excellent solution for serious storage and easy access.

Thanks!

UPDATE: The new IKEA catalog arrived in my PO box today. I glance through the SHELVING options and am reminded that my old friend the IVAR unit would be suitable here. 1 section: $99. (I'm pretty sure extra shelves are available for close-packing.) Width: 35". Depth: 11.75". Height: 70.5". My mando and 'uke cases are max-out at around 31" so they'd fit nicely. My Ovation 12-string case is 42" and so would stick out -- but the IVAR has no backs nor sides, only supports and shelves, so that's no problem. Hmmm, where could I stick more shelves in my house?

Awesome - well done! I have had two Billy bookcases with the extra in-between shelf on each level. I had probably close to 1,000 CD's in each one at a time. For years. So they're actually more sturdy than one would expect. Nicely done